Apparatus for carrying bags and method of using it

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for carrying grocery bags having a load member formed from a rigid material and having a plurality of bag holders extending from the load member; a shoulder strap having a first strap end attached to the first end of the load member and a second strap end attached to the second end of the load member; and a shoulder padding associated with a midpoint of the shoulder strap, the midpoint being disposed at about half distance between the first strap end and the second strap end, wherein the apparatus is configured to allow a user to place the shoulder strap onto the user&#39;s shoulder, such that the load member sits next to the user&#39;s waist or hip, the bag holders extend upwards, and such that rotation of the load member is prevented, thus allowing the user to hook onto the bag holders and suspend therefrom grocery bags.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/326,346, filed Apr. 22, 2016, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates generally to bag carriers and more particularly to bag carriers worn on one's shoulder and methods of using the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

Everyone knows how difficult it is to carry grocery bags from one's car to or into his/her residence. This problem is even more acute when one lives in an apartment complex, when often the car must be parked far away from the apartment. Further, the problem becomes worse when the apartment is not at ground level and thus stairs must be climbed to get to the apartment. The problem is further exacerbated when several grocery bags must be transported from the car to the apartment. In that case, the person has the choice of making several trips from the car to the apartment or try to carry all bags at once. Both options are bad options as described below.

The first option requires a lot of walking, and if stairs are involved, the inconvenience or even pain, especially for people with joint arthritis for example, is amplified. The second option also subjects the person to pain and suffering, and further to risk of injury and to significant discomfort and inconvenience. That is because many bags will typically be grabbed in one or both hands as shown in FIG. 1, exercising significant pressure on person's fingers, causing pain, risk of injury and cutting blood supply to the fingers, due to all of the weight of the bags being undesirably loaded in the fingers.

Further, due to the number of bags, often, grocery bags must be grabbed in both hands in order to avoid a second trip (FIG. 1). That further exposes the person to injuries. For example, when climbing stairs, because both hands are tied up with grocery bags, the person cannot hold on to the stairs handrail, thus risking losing her/his balance and fall. The risk is obviously higher for older people or people with some degree of disability. As another example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the person carrying the bags needs to open or unlock apartment complex and apartment doors, because the person has both hands tied, the person would have to bend down for the bags to be laid down onto the ground and then, after opening the door, bending again and lifting the bags back from the ground. This bending and lifting activity can cause pain or injury to the person back or other body regions, especially if one's body is already suffering from ailments such as arthritis. During such a trip, potentially at least three bending and lifting sessions may be needed: first when unloading the bags from the car, they may need to be laid down first onto the ground in order to close the car trunk lid; secondly, when an apartment complex door may need to be unlocked or open; thirdly, when the apartment door has to be unlocked and open. Thus, the person may be exposed to injury and pain at least three times during such trip.

In addition, when both hands are tied as shown in FIG. 1, in addition to the pain and risk of injury described above, the person is also exposed to significant additional discomfort and inconveniences. For example, if it rains during the trip from the car to the apartment, the person cannot hold an umbrella to protect herself from the rain. As another example, if a call is received, the person cannot take the call without stopping, bending and laying down the bags, causing again risk of injury and pain.

Therefore, there is a great need for a new and improved apparatus and method that address and solve the above problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key aspects or essential aspects of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, this Summary is not intended for use as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus for carrying grocery bags is provided, having a main body formed from a rigid material and having a first end and a second opposite end, a length measured between the first and the second end, a width and a height, wherein the length is a plurality of times greater than the width and the height and wherein the main body has a bottom side opposite an upper side and a front and a back opposite side extending between the bottom and the upper side; a plurality of pins extending upwards from the upper side of the main body; a shoulder strap having a first strap end attached to the first end of the main body and a second strap end attached to the second end of the main body, the shoulder strap being configured to allow a user to place the shoulder strap onto the user's shoulder, such that the main body is suspended next to the user's waist or hip and such that the pins extend upwards, thus allowing the user to hook onto the pins and suspend therefrom grocery bags; and a first aperture disposed into a first protrusion associated with the first end of the main body and a second aperture disposed into a second protrusion associated with the second end of the main body, each aperture being configured to receive a hook associated with the first and the second strap end to attach to and suspend from the shoulder strap the main body, both first and second apertures being disposed higher than the upper side of the main body, such that to prevent rotation of the main body relative to a longitudinal axis, while loaded with grocery bags and while being suspended via the shoulder strap from the shoulder of the user, which would cause a fall of the bags from the pins.

In another exemplary embodiment, a method for carrying grocery bags is provided, the method including using an apparatus for carrying grocery bags as summarized in the above exemplary embodiment, placing the apparatus for carrying grocery bags onto a person's shoulder, hooking onto the pins and suspend therefrom grocery bags, and walking to a destination hands-free of grocery bags.

Thus, the advantages are that the provided apparatus and method address and solve all of problems with the prior art described above.

The above embodiments and advantages, as well as other embodiments and advantages, will become apparent from the ensuing description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For exemplification purposes, and not for limitation purposes, embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of inferior prior art method of carrying grocery bags, namely by using a person's both hands.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the problems with the prior art, namely the need to lay down the bags in order to open or unlock a gate.

FIG. 3 illustrates a side perspective view of an apparatus for carrying grocery bags, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a top perspective view of the load member 301 from FIG. 3, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a top-side perspective view of the load member 301 from FIG. 3, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates the apparatus for carrying grocery bags in use.

FIG. 7 illustrates a back-top perspective view of an apparatus for carrying grocery bags, according to an alternative embodiment.

FIGS. 8-13 illustrate exemplary steps of a method for carrying grocery bags, according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

What follows is a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in which the invention may be practiced. Reference will be made to the attached drawings, and the information included in the drawings is part of this detailed description. The specific preferred embodiments of the invention, which will be described herein, are presented for exemplification purposes, and not for limitation purposes. It should be understood that structural and/or logical modifications could be made by someone of ordinary skills in the art without departing from the scope and essence of the invention.

Reference will now be made to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 illustrates a side perspective view of an apparatus for carrying grocery bags, according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, an apparatus 300 for carrying grocery bags is provided. The apparatus 300 may have a load member 301, which may include a load bar or main body 302, formed preferably from a rigid material, and a plurality of bag holders 303. As shown, the bag holders 303 may be in the forms of pins, and may be integrally formed with the main body 302, such as by machining a suitable plastic bar. The load bar/main body 302 may have a first end 302 a and a second opposite end 302 b, and a length measured between the first and the second end being a plurality of times greater than its width and the height. The greater length is important to accommodating several grocery bags (or other loaded bags), as it will be described herein. In a preferred embodiment, the length of the load bar/main body 302 may be about 11.5-12 (twelve) inches long. Tests conducted showed that at this suitable size the device accomplishes satisfactorily the functions and benefits described herein while also providing an easy and convenient way of carrying of the device to the grocery store, such as by folding it and placing it into a purse for example (since the belt/strap 307 is flexible and foldable, in folded state the length of the entire device would be about 12 inches).

The loaded bar/main body 302 may have a bottom side (not shown) opposite an upper side 302 d and a front 302 c and a back opposite side (not shown), extending between the bottom and the upper side 302 d. In an example, a plurality of pins 303 may extend upwards from the upper side 302 d of the main body 302. A shoulder strap 307 may be provided, with an optional shoulder pad 308, and having a first strap end 307 a attached to the first end of the main body and a second strap end 307 b attached to the second end of the main body, the shoulder strap 307 being configured to allow a user to place the shoulder strap onto the user's shoulder. The length of the shoulder strap 307 may be such that the main body 302 is suspended next to the user's waist or hip. To achieve this, the apparatus 300 may be for example manufactured with an adjustable belt or in various sizes to accommodate the differences in height of various users.

Thus, the apparatus 300 allows the user to hook onto the bag holders 303 and suspend therefrom grocery bags loaded with groceries or other similar bags, to facilitate their transport, as described herein.

The load member 301 may have a first aperture 309 a (509 a in FIG. 5) disposed into a first protrusion 310 a (510 a in FIG. 5) associated with the first end 302 a of the main body 302 and a second aperture 309 b (509 b in FIG. 5) disposed into a second protrusion 310 b (510 b in FIG. 5) associated with the second end 302 b of the main body 302, each aperture being configured to receive a hook (e.g., lobster clasp as shown) 308 a-b associated with the first and the second strap ends 307 a-b, to attach to and suspend from the shoulder strap 307 the load member 301, including the main body 302 and bag holders 303.

As shown, the hooks 308 a-b may be spring loaded lobster clasps to facilitate removable attachment. This may be useful such as when a user would want to detach the shoulder strap 307 for, for example, washing it in a washing machine or replacing it with another shoulder strap.

As shown, both first and second apertures 309 a-b are preferably disposed higher than the upper side 302 d (402 d in FIG. 4) of the main apparatus body 302, with a height differential Δ (delta) 350 (550 in FIG. 5). The height differential Δ (delta) 350, which could be for example ½ (one half) inch, is very important. That is because this configuration of the load member 301 prevents its rotation 304, and thus of the main body 302 relative to a longitudinal axis 304, by the upward forces 306 (i.e., tensions in the shoulder strap 307) while the bag holders 303 are loaded with grocery bags (thus exercising a side-downwards force 305) and while being suspended via the shoulder strap 307 from the shoulder of the user. Such rotation could render the apparatus ineffective as it would cause a fall of the bags from the bag holders 303. This fall of the bags is prevented because of the design of the apparatus 300 as described herein, including the height differential Δ (delta) 350.

The anti-fall effect of the height differential 350 can be observed in FIG. 6, which shows the apparatus in use. With the handles 645 of many grocery bags 644 hooked onto the bag holders 603, and strap 607 suspended from a user shoulder, while walking from the car to the apartment for example, the rotation 604 of the load member 601 and thus the fall of the bags 644 (because of bags weight component force 605) is prevented because of the height differential 350 and the forces 606, as described above when referring to FIG. 3.

It should be noted in FIG. 3 that a shoulder padding 308 may be provided for comfort, which may be associated with a midpoint 308 a of the shoulder strap 307, the midpoint being disposed at about half distance between the first strap end 307 a and the second strap end 307 b.

As shown in FIG. 4, bag holders 403 may be disposed at equal distances 433 from each other. This may help distribute load more evenly onto the load member 401 by allowing the user to place and suspend therefrom a more even number of grocery bags (loaded with groceries) onto each bag holder 403. It should be noted in FIG. 4 that main body/load bar 402 may be coplanar on both front and back sides with the bag holders 403.

As shown in FIG. 5, the top 522 of the bag holders 503 are preferably be smooth and rounded. An advantage of this is the ease of sliding the loaded grocery bags handles onto the bag holders 503. As shown, the main body 502 may have a front side 502 c and a back opposite side (not shown), where they are both flat, parallel to each other and having a smooth surface for comfort to user, irrespective of which side becomes adjacent to user's hip or waist.

It should be noted that the back side (not shown) of the load member 501 may be substantially a mirror image of the front side view depicted in FIG. 5. Thus, the load member 501 can be used with either side, preferably a smooth surface, facing the waist or the hip of the user.

The load member 501 may be made from a rigid material such as plastic or wood and using processes such as machining, casting or injection molding, while the shoulder strap 307 may be made from leather or fabric for example.

FIG. 7 illustrates the back-top perspective view of a bag carrier according to an alternative embodiment. As shown, the bag carrier 700 includes a main body 772 having a plurality of bag holders 773 and a support element 761 associated with the main body 772 by fastening or integral forming. A belt/strap (as shown in FIG. 3 at 307) may be attached to the protrusions/belt holders 774 so that the bag carrier 700 can be carried on one's shoulder as described above in this disclosure when referring to the precedent figures. The support element 761 may be configured to rest upon the waist or hip of the user, thus causing the main body 772 and bag holders 773 to be pushed away from the waist or hip of the user. This configuration may provide the benefit of facilitating movement of the user with the loaded bag carrier on, as it may help prevent user's legs from bumping into the bags. It should be noted that the support element 861 may have an arched inner surface 761 a to better conform to and rest on user's waist or hip.

As shown, the bag holders 773 may be for example simple vertical pins fastened to or integrally formed with the main body 772. A user would simply hook the handles of the grocery bags onto the bag holders 773 as described hereinbefore. Utility pockets, to store therein a phone or wallet for example, while not shown, may be provided, by, for example, carving some on top surface 761 b of support element 761.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 8-13. FIGS. 8-13 illustrate exemplary steps of a method for carrying grocery bags, according to an embodiment. As shown, a user would typically start by loading the grocery bags 844 from the trunk of her vehicle into the apparatus described hereinbefore, while the apparatus is suspended from her shoulder. It should be observed, that the user does not need to bend down, to lay the bags down onto the ground, in order to be able to close/lock the trunk when done. Again, this prevents exposing the user to risk of pain and injury. Once the grocery bags 844 are loaded into the apparatus, as shown, the user can simply walk to the destination (e.g., her apartment), with her hands free (unlike the prior art: see FIG. 1) and thus able to take a call and/or hold an umbrella (see FIG. 11).

Further, unlike the prior art (see FIG. 2), the user does not need to bend down again to place the bags on the ground in order to be able to open/unlock a gate (see FIG. 10). Because user's hands are free, the user can unlock/open the door with the bags 844 remaining where they are, suspended from the apparatus. This, again, prevents additional exposure of the user to pain (e.g., back pain) and risk of injury (e.g., back injury when laying down the bags or when lifting them up).

In addition, when it is needed to climb stairs, the apparatus is very beneficial as shown in FIG. 12. Again, because the hands are free, the user can support herself from the stairs handrail. This may be critically advantageous for older individuals or individuals with some degree of walking impairment for whom maintaining a balance while walking may be a challenge. Thus, again, the apparatus disclosed herein may help the user prevent injuries caused by falling while climbing the stairs.

Lastly, as shown in FIG. 13, when in the apartment, the user can simply remove from the shoulder the apparatus with the bags 844 suspended from it, and suspend it from a wall for example, before unloading the bags from the apparatus. It should be noted that this option also prevents potentially an additional bending and/or lifting and thus risk of pain or injury, as all activity is performed with the user being at all time in an upright position.

It may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used in this patent document. The term “couple” and its derivatives refer to any direct or indirect communication between two or more elements, whether or not those elements are in physical contact with one another. The term “or” is inclusive, meaning and/or. The phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like.

Further, as used in this application, “plurality” means two or more. A “set” of items may include one or more of such items. Whether in the written description or the claims, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of,” respectively, are closed or semi-closed transitional phrases with respect to claims.

If present, use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed. These terms are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements. As used in this application, “and/or” means that the listed items are alternatives, but the alternatives also include any combination of the listed items.

Throughout this description, the aspects, embodiments or examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than limitations on the apparatus or procedures disclosed or claimed. Although some of the examples may involve specific combinations of method acts or system elements, it should be understood that those acts and those elements may be combined in other ways to accomplish the same objectives.

Acts, elements and features discussed only in connection with one aspect, embodiment or example are not intended to be excluded from a similar role(s) in other aspects, embodiments or examples.

Aspects, embodiments or examples of the invention may be described as processes, which are usually depicted using a flowchart, a flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may depict the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. With regard to flowcharts, it should be understood that additional and fewer steps may be taken, and the steps as shown may be combined or further refined to achieve the described methods.

If means-plus-function limitations are recited in the claims, the means are not intended to be limited to the means disclosed in this application for performing the recited function, but are intended to cover in scope any equivalent means, known now or later developed, for performing the recited function.

If any presented, the claims directed to a method and/or process should not be limited to the performance of their steps in the order written, and one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the sequences may be varied and still remain within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Although aspects, embodiments and/or examples have been illustrated and described herein, someone of ordinary skills in the art will easily detect alternate of the same and/or equivalent variations, which may be capable of achieving the same results, and which may be substituted for the aspects, embodiments and/or examples illustrated and described herein, without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of this application is intended to cover such alternate aspects, embodiments and/or examples. Hence, the scope of the invention is defined by the accompanying claims and their equivalents. Further, each and every claim is incorporated as further disclosure into the specification. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for carrying grocery bags comprising: a main body formed from a rigid material and having a first end and a second opposite end, a length measured between the first and the second end, a width and a height, wherein the length is a plurality of times greater than the width and the height and wherein the main body has a bottom side opposite an upper side and a front and a back opposite side extending between the bottom and the upper side; a plurality of pins extending upwards from the upper side of the main body; a shoulder strap having a first strap end attached to the first end of the main body and a second strap end attached to the second end of the main body, the shoulder strap being configured to allow a user to place the shoulder strap onto the user's shoulder, such that the main body is suspended next to the user's waist or hip and such that the pins extend upwards, thus allowing the user to hook onto the pins and suspend therefrom grocery bags; and a first aperture disposed into a first protrusion associated with the first end of the main body and a second aperture disposed into a second protrusion associated with the second end of the main body, each aperture being configured to receive a hook associated with the first and the second strap end to attach to and suspend the main body from the shoulder strap, both the first and second apertures being disposed with a height differential higher than the upper side of the main body, such that to prevent rotation of the main body relative to a longitudinal axis, while loaded with the grocery bags and while being suspended via the shoulder strap from the shoulder of the user, thus preventing a fall of the grocery bags from the pins.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a support element extending from the back side of the main body and being configured to rest upon the waist or hip of the user, thus causing the main body to be pushed away from the waist or hip of the user.
 3. An apparatus for carrying grocery bags comprising: a main body formed from a rigid material and having a first end and a second opposite end and a length measured between the first and the second end, a width and a height, wherein the length is a plurality of times greater than the width and the height; a plurality of coplanar bag holders extending from the main body; a shoulder strap having a first strap end removably attached to the first end of the main body and a second strap end removably attached to the second end of the main body; and a shoulder padding associated with a midpoint of the shoulder strap, the midpoint being disposed at about halfway between the first strap end and the second strap end, wherein the apparatus is configured to allow a user to place the shoulder strap onto the user's shoulder, such that the main body sits next to the user's waist or hip and such that the bag holders extend upwards, thus allowing the user to hook onto the bag holders and suspend therefrom grocery bags.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the bag holders are pins having a proximal end a distal end, wherein the proximal end is integral to the main body, wherein the distal end extends away from the main body, and wherein the pins are also coplanar with the main body.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the removable attachment of the first and second strap ends is accomplished using a lobster clasp at each end that is hooked into a first and a second main body ends, respectively.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the first and the second main body ends have a hole configured to receive the lobster clasp, the hole at each end being disposed higher than the proximal end of the pins, such that to prevent rotation of the main body relative to a longitudinal axis while loaded with grocery bags and while being suspended via the shoulder strap from the shoulder of the user, which would cause a fall of the bags from the pins during transport.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the main body has a bottom side opposite an upper side from which the pins extend and a front and a back opposite sides, both being flat, parallel to each other and extending between the bottom and upper sides, wherein the front and back sides have a smooth surface for comfort to user, irrespective of which side becomes adjacent to user's hip or waist.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the rigid material is plastic
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the length of the main body is about 12 inches and the apparatus has 5 equidistant bag holders.
 10. A method for carrying grocery bags comprising: placing an apparatus for carrying grocery bags onto a person's shoulder, the apparatus comprising a main body made from a rigid material and having a first end, a second opposite end, a bottom side opposite an upper side and a front and a back opposite side extending between the bottom and the upper side; a plurality of pins extending upwards from the upper side of the main body; a shoulder strap having a first strap end attached to the first end of the main body and a second strap end attached to the second end of the main body, the shoulder strap being configured to allow the placing of the shoulder strap onto the person's shoulder, such that the main body rests suspended therefrom next to the person's waist or hip while the pins extend upwards; a first aperture disposed into a first protrusion associated with the first end of the main body and a second aperture disposed into a second protrusion associated with the second end of the main body, each aperture being configured to receive a hook associated with the first and the second strap end to attach to and suspend from the shoulder strap the main body, both first and second apertures being disposed higher than the upper side of the main body, such that to prevent rotation of the main body relative to a longitudinal axis, while being loaded with grocery bags and while being suspended via the shoulder strap from the shoulder of the person, thus preventing a fall of the grocery bags from the pins; hooking onto the pins and suspend therefrom grocery bags; and walking to a destination hands-free of grocery bags. 